With the annual town elections right around the corner, voters will soon be tasked with choosing new members to represent them in local government.
In Oak Bluffs, two of the five select board members, Ryan Ruley and Brian Packish — current and former chair, respectively — have announced that they won’t be seeking re-election. Looking to fill the two open seats are Dion Alley, Thomas Hallahan, and Mark Leonard. The town’s planning board will have a contested race as well. Bill Cleary won’t be seeking re-election. Running for that board are Sean Patrick Debettencourt and Robert Fehl.
One seat on the Chilmark select board is up for grabs, as longtime member Warren Doty will not be seeking re-election. So far, Russell Maloney and Marie Larsen have both pulled papers for the seat. The last day to file nomination papers is Wednesday, March 8. There is also an opening for the town’s tree warden, with the current warden, Keith Emin, not seeking re-election.
In Edgartown, select board member Margaret Serpa is the only member of the board up for re-election, and she is the sole candidate for the seat. Contested positions in Edgartown have Kelly Scott and Kimberly Kirk vying for the school board committee, and Alan Gowel and James Joyce for board of assessors.
Incumbents in Aquinnah, select board member Juli Vanderhoop and town clerk Gabriella Camilleri, are both seeking re-election, and are the only candidates for the roles thus far.
There will be no contested races on the ballot in West Tisbury. Select board member Jessica Miller is running unopposed. Nomination papers were due last month.
Tisbury is accepting nomination papers until March 21, and so far, Tisbury town clerk Hillary Conklin says, only one candidate has pulled nomination papers for the select board. Incumbent Abbe Burt will be on the ballot again, after winning a special election in January to fill a vacancy. No other candidates have pulled papers so far. In other Tisbury elections, candidates have pulled papers, including Ken Barwick for constable, Nancy Weaver for the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, James Norton for board of assessors, Carolyn Henderson for library board of trustees, and Jeffrey Pratt for board of health.
Annual town election dates
Aquinnah: Tuesday, May 9
Chilmark: Wednesday, April 26
Edgartown: Thursday, April 13
Oak Bluffs: Thursday, April 13
Tisbury: Tuesday, May 9
West Tisbury: Thursday, April 13
Sam Houghton, Eunki Seonwoo and Abigail Rosen contributed to this story.
